More User Reviews:

Thanks to Mike for splitting this one! It beams bright in the glass, kind of somewhere between orange and amber, fairly opaque with some obscured translucency near the edges of the glass. The less than stellar, gray-tinted head reduces to a thin collar in record time, though I can't say Im surprised for a brew with such heft.

Hmmm... you sure this is a double IPA? The aroma gives way to malt, first and foremost, typically not a good sign for a hop heavy beer. Check the date... wow, barely a month old. So this is how it's supposed to be, huh? Caramel, buttery toffee, and only a faint onset of leafy hops, but barely enough to cut through the sticky sweet jungle.

I normally hate when people talk about an IPA and say "oh, with age it becomes a great barley wine". I don't know why, but it just bothers me. But that's the case here, minus the age. This thing is a "hoppy" barleywine right out of the gate. I think I remember Bigfoot having a larger hop presence than this. Tsk, tsk, label your beers properly!

The taste is also mostly malty; sticky sweet iwht caramel and toffee and some butter with lighter undertones of baked bread (still sweet). Hops show a *little* more presence on the palate, but not too much. Peppery hops, with a middle o' the tongue bitterness that merely trembles in the wake of residual, unattenuated malt sugars. Thick body, heavy mouth feel, low carbonation... sounds like an old ale.

Blah, I really appreciate Mike's generosity in sharing this one with us, but I just wasn't a fan at all. I'm not a lover of sweet, thick, "huge", malty DIPAs (as evidenced by my disappointment in the Unicorn's Revenge consumed just prior to this one) and that's exactly what this beer is. Hard to think this is really a DIPA by the standard definition. I think I've learned my lesson... stay clear of DIPAs that exceed 10% ABV.

22 oz bottle. Pours clear copper with a medium creamy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet caramel malt with tropical fruits and piney resiny hops.

The flavor is sweet caramel malt with some fruit and a big piney resiny hop finish with a good amount of bitterness. There's quite a bit of warming alcohol (but not much in the flavor). The mouthfeel is medium bodied with smooth carbonation.

The Bollocks opens to a bright, citrusy, hoppy nose, pink grapefruit, grapefruit rind, and sugary rosewater almost leaping out of the bottle. The emphasis is on the sweeter, more citrusy side of hops, but there are still good supporting layers of pine resin, dandelion stem, mint, and eucalyptus to add bite and bitterness. Beneath the hops is a layer of sugars you could float a brick on, with massive apricot, orange, berry, and cherry fruit esters, scads of candi sugar-like sweetness, and brown sugar. Toast crust, baguette, and biscuit float around the rim, adding earthiness. As a whole, the nose is lovely, featuring a hop-forward profile that plays well off of the citrusy notes, but blended well with sugars, the entire mélange presenting varied and extremely potent aromas that perfectly befit an Imperial IPA.

On the tongue, the beer proves even more hoppy than the nose spoke of, but here the hops are well balanced between bitter and citrusy, with pink grapefruit, grapefruit rind, and sugary rosewater joined by huge crests of pine resin, dandelion stem, mint, and eucalyptus, as well as anise. The sheer variety of flavors present in the hops speaks to a well-crafted hop profile, presenting almost every conceivable hop flavor all at once. The sugars are still massive as well, bringing orange, berry, cherry, and apricot fruit esters, as well as brown sugar, vanilla, and caramel. Toast crust and biscuit add further complexity. In subsequent sips the bitter pine resin and dandelion stem notes from the hops emerge in even greater strength, and the beer takes on a lovely nose-tingling bite. The aftertaste is a continuation of these hoppy notes, with even more astringency and punch as the sugars have died off, ending in a long-drawn-out anise and dandelion stem blat that lingers for several minutes. Mouthfeel is a slick medium, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this is an excellent IPA, offering almost everything a hophead could want in a beer, and enough sugars to cause one’s pancreas to reel in drunken delight. It says much of the craft of this brew that the high 12% ABV is hardly noticeable against the hops and sugars, presenting itself mainly in the aftertaste as an alcoholic vapor that creeps into the nasal cavities. Fantastic beer; a must-try.

An extreme beer with a hoppy nose presenting caramel, spice, cardamom and alcohol. It pours a chill hazed amber that clears up as it warms under a 1” bone white foam cap that slowly dissipates. It attacks the palate with rich malts when combined with the big alcohol suggest bourbon over spice and cola. Full to chewy body is tempered by an extremely fine soft carbonation and a very creamy texture. Everything is big, but well balance. The alcohol it warming but not overly hot or solventy.

Appearance: Pours a very hazy amber orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. About two fingers of off white head which fade into a thin patchy layer. Leaves a good amount of lacing around the glass.

Smell: Aroma of ripe and sharp citrus esters and lots of booze. Big hop smell up front with hints of citrus grapefruit, orange, pineapple, mango, apricot, tangerine, and lemon. Also lots of grass and earthy hops along with some pine resin spice. The citrus has a sweet and candy or honey like scent to it. Light bready malts in the background with hints of biscuit and caramel. Quite a bit of alcohol is being picked up.

Taste: Like the smell hints, a big in your face taste of citrus hops and booze. Big ripe and bitter taste of citrus hops with notes of grapefruit, orange, mango, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, and lemon. Lots of grass and earthy hops in the mix with a fairly dank presence of pine resin. Decent malt backing with some notes of caramel, toffee, and biscuit. This is on the sweeter side for a double IPA. A little syrupy like sweetness lingers. Alcohol taste is pretty noticeable.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Juicy, sharp, and slightly syrupy. Alcohol heat is felt although it isn't overwhelming.

Overall: A decent take on a imperial IPA. Big on the citrus. Could of been a little more dry and less boozy.

I tell you what's Bollocks opening this beer to find out it's bottled on 8/21/13, who wants DIPA from last August. They haven't updated their website since 2013 either, are they still making beer contracted through the same brewery as Clown Shoes in Ipswich, MA...Mercury Brewing. Holy unfiltered DIPA batman, there's a ton of yeast sludge in the bottom of the bottle I recommend leaving it out initially but I will probably end up drinking it. Deep unfiltered copper opaque DIPA, with a light khaki cream colored head. Fine speckled lacing matches the color of the sludge in the bottom of the bottle. Aroma muddled stale hops, warming alcohol fumes from the 12 % abv, off putting aroma for sure...there used to be lively citric hops here now it smells like a barleywine with some harshness. Flavor has caramelized sugars and stale hops, muddled DIPA gone barleywine, hot alcohol...this beer is literally a mess. Mouthfeel is equally abrasive as the flavor and aromatics, cloying sticky residual sugars that did not get fermented out, the sweetness is overkill now that the hop profile is dead on arrival. Dude, this is Brash that's about the only thing they got right in this one, I will keep my eyes open for a fresher sample.